May 21, 1998 | Read Time: 1 minute
Sanford I. Weill, chief executive officer of the Travelers Group insurance and brokerage company, and his wife, Joan, have announced that they plan to give $100-million to Cornell University’s medical college in New York.
Mr. Weill, a 1955 graduate of Cornell University and a trustee emeritus, has been a long-time supporter of his alma mater, as well as a benefactor of other New York charitable institutions. As co-chair of a steering committee for Carnegie Hall, he helped raise $60-million for its restoration.
The gift is the largest in Cornell’s history, officials say, and is among the 20 largest gifts ever made to an U.S. college or university, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Mr. Weill’s gift to Cornell will go toward expanding research in three areas: structural biology, genetic medicine, and neuroscience. Those areas were named when the university announced that it would seek $316-million to make improvements as part of a new strategic plan.
“The future of medicine in this country and throughout the world depends on the excellence of our biomedical research,” said Mr. Weill, who is chairman of the Board of Overseers for the medical college.
To acknowledge the gift, the university’s trustees have decided to rename the college the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College and Graduate School of Medical Sciences of Cornell University.
Mr. Weill’s net worth is $625-million, according to the lat est Forbes magazine estimates. But some say Mr. Weill is worth much more, perhaps more than $1-billion, in the wake of his company’s announcement last month that it would merge with the banking giant Citicorp.
